Textbook sales power Alibris’s 40% growth in August
August sales at online bookseller Alibris grew 40% over August last year, driven by textbook sales, the company reports. August sales were 70% over July’s sales. Privately held Alibiris does not report dollar sales, but it does tell InternetRetailer.com that it sold more than 500,000 units in August.
Alibris is promoting sales at its web site with a safe-shopping guarantee. “Fast-growing markets always attract ethical as well as unethical sellers,” says CEO Martin Manley. “Students annually spend an average of $900 on textbooks, so this year we’ve taken extra measures to monitor, identify, and remove independent sellers from our web site who attempt to mislead our customers.”
Alibris warned students to beware of false savings from online scam artists who sell out-of-date and non-U.S. editions, and even photocopied textbooks. To fraudulently market textbook bargains to unsuspecting students, these sellers frequently list books using International Standard Book Numbers that match course requirements but that do not actually represent the listed item, Alibris says.
Alibris, No. 98 in the Internet Retailer Top 400 Guide to Retail Web Sites, says it has enhanced proprietary software that spots signs of misrepresented ISBNs in inventory records and then alerts Alibris personnel to review the suspicious records and to take action. Since the adoption of the improved technology, more than 50 sellers have been banned from selling on Alibris, and thousands of records have been stripped of misleading ISBNs, the company reports.
“We believe part of what`s fueling our growth is our growing reputation as one of the safest places to shop for new and used textbooks online,” Manley says. “We`ll continue to improve our technology and our service to keep our customers returning again and again."
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